Vekst (Growth)
by CAMIR
Summary: This story is about growth, as stated in the title: individual, interpersonal, biological. During their mission in the Silent World it is Sigrun's job to keep the team together and alive. To achieve this goal, she makes a mistake that costs her dearly.
1. Chapter 1 - What lurks in the darkness

**Vekst (Growth)**

 _Disclaimer_ : This time I have to give the credits to **Minna Sundberg** and her webcomic **Stand Still Stay Silent** which is beyond since you are here you already know this.

 _Author's Note_ : I normally don't write fanfics to other fandoms then Star Trek, but this story bugged me so much in my head for the last several days. It needs to get out. Full. Stop. Sigrun became my favorite character the moment I laid eyes on her. This story sets out to explore her relationship with Mikkel and a bit how Norwegian society works in these days.

I must add, that English is not my native tongue. So, if you find any errors in grammar, word choice or syntax that impairs your reading experience, please tell me. I'd be glad to improve.

 _How this story works_ : I am not a nice person when it comes to characters. Expect awkward situations, meanness, hurt. I try to capture the characters and I hope I succeed. Even if you are not the general Sigrun/Mikkel shipper, I hope to catch your interest with this. There is so much more going on than just your usual fluffstory.

 _Thanks and dedications:_ This is dedicated to all the loyal fans and fanfiction writers out there who keep the fandom alive. And to you dear reader.

 _Summary_ : This story is about growth, as stated in the title: individual, interpersonal, biological. During their mission in the Silent World it is Sigrun's job to keep the team together and alive. To achieve this goal, she makes a mistake that costs her dearly.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – What lurks in the darkness…**

It had snowed overnight. The ruins of a settlement which used to be called Købnhavn a long time ago were covered in pure white cotton giving the scenery an air of beauty. Two sets of footprints however disturbed this image of serenity and solitude. Two lonesome persons made their way through the ruins seemingly knowing exactly where they went. One was a tall redhead the other a young man with blond hair.

"This snow. I'm not sure I like it." Sigrun looked around, watching every corner around her with equal suspicion.

"What do you mean? Didn't you yourself tell us that the trolls hate the cold." Suddenly Emil mirrored her moves albeit with more nervousness.

"Yeah, I suppose I said that. Still, it's easy for them to hide beneath the snow. They can creep up on us and before we realize it it's over. BAM! Just like that." She tried to illustrate the situation by slamming her fist in the palm of her other hand.

"Thanks for telling me _now_." Emil stopped midway. "Suddenly I don't feel the urge to continue."

"Nah, we'll probably be fine. The sun is up and it is really, _really_ cold. We just need to be careful is all." She stopped next to him and pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. "Now what did this little pipsqueak say?" She squinted to read the paper a bit better. It was a crude map she had drawn after Tuuri's translations. Emil joined her looking at the map. It showed their immediate surroundings. With a gloved finger, he pointed where he thought they were standing now.

"I suppose we are here now. It's a bit hard to tell."

"It is", Sigrun agreed. "But we shouldn't be very far from this building he told us about. The one with the millions of books."

"Is it really millions?" Emil had a skeptical tone in his voice.

Sigrun shrugged. "That's what Tuuri said he said. As if it mattered. We can only carry a few as it is anyway. Even if we came back several times. Personally, I wouldn't mind if there were fewer. Makes it easier to pick the right ones. You should have heard Mikkel the last time."

"You know, I _did_ hear him."

Sigrun shrugged again and put the map away. "I don't get it. Who cares what's in them as long as we get paid nicely for them?"

"Mikkel cares," Emil replied and regretted it immediately when she cast him an annoyed glance.

"Alright let's go!" she urged and he trotted behind her still hoping that nothing would creep up on them under the snow.

* * *

The building they were looking for was a large brick building. It seemed stable enough in comparison to other buildings they had the honor of visiting although the upper floors looked collapsed. In addition, its doors and windows were destroyed and the letters above its entrance were barely readable. A few were missing completely others were hanging lopsidedly. Sigrun and Emil watched the writing with curiosity.

"I suppose it used to say _Bibliotekshuset_ ", commented Emil after a while.

"Are you sure? Well, that makes sense, I guess. A library. I still cannot get my head around the concept that you would build a house simply for books. What a waste when people need a roof over their head."

"Things surely were a lot different back then." For a moment Emil wondered what it was that Sigrun had deciphered while reading the letters. It was probably better if he didn't ask.

Meanwhile Sigrun had prepared her hand lamp and was getting closer to the building. Her whole body showed an alertness and a readiness to strike should the necessity occur. Emil admired her fearlessness in the face of danger. Neither knew what was waiting for them inside, but while Sigrun simply accounted for every possibility with the same nonchalance he found his imagination playing evil tricks on him. Especially after his first contact with the Silent World had ended with him putting a whole building to the torch. Sigrun stood in the entrance now and let the light of her lamp shine into hallway of the building. Despite being midday, the room was surprisingly dark. This was partly due to the weak winter sun but also because of the collapsed floors that cast shadows where none should be. Slowly Sigrun let the light glide throughout the room and when she found nothing suspicious she put the lamp away.

"Looks good enough. Are you ready?"

Emil sighed and simply decided to trust her. She was trained to spot the tiniest oddity. If she didn't catch anything on sight there probably was nothing. But still he couldn't shake this feeling he had each time he entered one of the buildings in the Silent World. Most of the time it had turned out to be nothing so he had decided to keep silent. That didn't mean he was particularly comfortable. Instinctively he felt for his fire accelerants. They had never betrayed him. They surely wouldn't betray him now. He put on a brave face.

"Yep."

She nodded. "So it begins."

* * *

"The cellar. It's always the cellar." Emil leaned on the wall and tried to catch his breath while Sigrun was checking whether the way in front of them was clear. Her hand lamp was the only light source now since the sun could not reach this place. They had checked all the upper floors but had found no book that was worth taking. All of them had been rotten or were otherwise destroyed much to their chagrin. The light danced on the walls and illuminated some of the doors that were further down the hallway. The air was moldy and damp and Emil's heart sank. So far, this mission had been a complete waste of time. The smell did not promise any success as he had learnt.

"Shouldn't we turn back now?" he suggested. Since they had come to the cellar his uneasiness had increased. He hated that there was only one way to escape. And he hated even more that they had spent so much time for nothing. Who knew what lurked in the darkness?

Sigrun stopped and turned to face him. For a second he expected her scolding him for his behavior. But she didn't. Instead she put an arm on his shoulder.

"Listen, Golden Boy. I understand how you feel. I hate these cramped environments myself. Too many liabilities. But until now I haven't seen anything that indicated incoming enemy contact. And I'd hate to abort the mission without having checked everything."

"I understand." He nodded and put all his courage together. "Then let's do this and go home."

"That's the spirit!"

They followed Sigrun's light down the hallway where it was stopped by a large metal double wing door. The door had two small windows but it was impossible to see through. The light reflected on the glass. Next to the door was a dirty sign with a few numbers on it. Apart from that it was impossible to read.

"Could you?" Emil nodded in direction to the sign and Sigrun obliged by giving him some light. He rubbed the dirt from the sign and read it. "It says _Lesesal_. A reading room, we might be in luck."

Sigrun gave him the lamp and opened one of the doors. It was not locked and stable enough not to fall apart. The squeaking noise of the door reverberated in the silence, no matter how careful Sigrun was. She sighed and made sure the door stayed open. After that she retrieved her lamp to check the situation. When the light fell into the room, Emil gasped.

He rubbed his eyes and gasped again. In front of them were shelves and shelves of books. And they seemed in decent condition, too. Near the walls were tables and chairs in various states of decay as well as other items Emil could not identify. In the darkness might even be a dead body or two, but he wasn't too keen on finding out about _that_.

"Look at that, have you ever seen so many books together?" His eyes lit up and he was tempted to storm in the middle of the room. Sigrun held him back by putting her arm in front of him.

"Definitely haven't." She sneered, but concentrated to the business at hand. "Get the bags ready while I secure the area."

"Understood."

He watched Sigrun walking along the shelves until he could only see her silhouette in the distance and the dancing light. He closed his eyes and inhaled. So far everything had gone well. Maybe too well? He put down his backpack and removed its contents. Before the mission he had suggested to put a few empty bags together for the sake of transport and Sigrun had agreed.

 _Drip, drip, drip…_

He froze and held his breath while listening intently. When he heard nothing for some time he continued with his task.

 _Drip, drip, drip…_

This noise was horribly familiar and now he knew that he wasn't imagining things. Carefully he put the bags back in his backpack and looked for Sigrun and her light. As silently as possible he crossed the room towards her while unsheathing his weapon. She had stopped her movements herself listening intently.

 _Drip, drip, drip…_

"Sigrun," whispered Emil and she whirled around. Her face was one of intense concentration and alertness.

"I know," she whispered back, "I hear it, too." She let the light glide along the ceiling looking for weak spots she had missed before. After several moments, her face became harder. "Alright, let's get out of here. It's not safe. A fight in this environment would be suicide. And no reward in the world is worth that."

Emil was more than ready to go, but before he did, Sigrun grabbed his arm. "Maybe we can snatch a few books regardless. Just what your hands can hold."

He nodded and started skimming the shelves, stuffing a few books in his backpack while heading for the exit.

The squishing noises behind them became louder and before Emil had reached the door he heard Sigrun scream. He whirled around to find her lamp lying on the floor. She herself was suspended midair. Something had grabbed her right leg and held her upside down. She squirmed and tried to reach for her weapon. While Emil headed for the lamp.

"Run!" she screamed. "Don't get yourself killed because of me!"

She had finally gotten the rifle out and desperately tried to aim while the creature swung her around making it more difficult to get a good shot.

For a second Emil was torn. Then he made is decision.

"No," he simply said and suddenly felt a strange sort of calm. While Sigrun struggled frantically he tried to aim as well and unloaded a shot in the darkness. The troll squealed but apart from that it seemed only the angrier.

"Are you defying my direct order?" Sigrun hissed. "I can take care of myself. You need to get the word out to the crew. I cannot have you dying here."

"I have no intention of dying!" Emil aimed slightly higher and fired another shot. Now he had the troll's attention. The thing was screaming in pain and moving slower than before. Sigrun took her chance and shot directly in the thing's face.

That was when the world exploded. Some red goo was oozing from the thing's wounds and in an effort of pain it hurtled Sigrun across the room. Emil heard an unsettling cracking sound where she had landed but the adrenaline in him compelled him to unload another round in the direction of the troll. It was now hurt enough to retreat in its lair. Emil considered briefly following the monster but then he remembered Sigrun and hurried towards her. She lay on the floor and a spot of fresh blood was clearly visible where she had crashed into the wall.

"Helvete!" he hissed and fell to his knees beside her. With the lamp, he tried to assess the seriousness of her wounds. Her left arm was twisted in an unnatural position, but to his relief she was moving.

"Nnngh."

"Sigrun, can you hear me?" he whispered, trying to put her in a more stable position. There was some blood at the back of her head. Desperation overcame Emil. They couldn't stay here for long and his commanding officer was seriously wounded.

"Nnghh…" she moaned again, but opened her eyes quickly afterward. "The devil sure got me good." She focused on Emil and furrowed her brows. "Didn't I tell you to run?"

"You did."

"Great, another candidate for my mutiny list. Please help me up."

"Can you walk?" Emil sounded worried. Her arm really looked horrible.

"I'm afraid there aren't that many alternatives right now."

Emil nodded and then supported her while she got up. She winced in pain but forced herself to continue. Then she supported herself on the wall.

"Gods, I'm dizzy."

"You have a wound on your head. It might be a concussion."

"Might very well be, but let's Mikkel assess this. For now, I'd say, we get those few books and afterwards we cleanse this place for good."

Emil nodded.

"It's a shame, isn't it? Do destroy all these perfectly preserved books."

She glared at him. "Who cares about books? This is a troll's lair. There's only one sensible course of action!"

Emil looked at her and then he looked at the darkness. And then he agreed.

When they had excited the building Sigrun sank to her knees and tried to catch her breath. Meanwhile Emil did his job and threw a burning match into the ruins of the library. He had prepared this course of action while fleeing and now it was a matter of seconds until the whole building was burning.

"Good job," Sigrun uttered weakly. "Let's go home now."

"One moment!" Emil knelt beside her. "I want to have a look at you first. The best I can do is some preliminary first aid." He reached for her arm but she avoided his touch.

"Don't!" She looked at him intently. "I'm fine enough to walk home. We cannot afford to waste any more time here and you're bound to make matters worse." With a lopsided grin, she added. "I want to leave it to Mikkel to patch me up together."

Not being able to completely hide his dissatisfaction Emil got up and helped her up afterwards. "As you wish," he murmured.


	2. Chapter 2 - A Healer's Touch

**Chapter 2 – A Healer's touch**

It was getting darker now and the shadows of the dead city looked even more threatening than they had done before. Emil supported Sigrun on their way home. With each step, his respect for her grew as did his worries. Her face was pale and she looked strained.

Although she had to suffer immense pain she willed herself to go on. Meanwhile Emil saw clearly that her willpower dwindled slowly. She could not keep this up for much longer. In his mind, he estimated how much longer they had to walk. The results were rather troublesome.

Suddenly she stopped. Emil stopped immediately, too and looked at her apprehensively.

"Boy, I have to… I think I have to…"

She could not finish the sentence before she fell down in front of him and threw up in the snow. She retched several times and her whole body began to shiver.

Emil was beside her immediately. The dizziness and now this were definite symptoms of a concussion. She needed medical attention and soon. Carefully he touched her back to show his support nonverbally. Nothing he could have said would have helped.

She remained still several moments after the retching stopped. Then she inhaled and forced herself up again. Still, it was obvious that she was even weaker than before. Her legs trembled and she seemed to have difficulties focusing. Emil was instantly by her side again and put an arm around her waist to lend her some of his strength.

Without saying another word, they pressed on through the deserted ruins of a dead city.

* * *

"They're back!" Tuuri had her nose hard pressed on the window of the tank that served as the crew's mobile base. She had watched the street for hours, intent on catching the first glimpse of Sigrun and Emil when they returned.

Mikkel looked up from his books. "Were they successful?"

"I can't really tell. They don't seem to have that many… wait a second! Sigrun seems to be hurt really bad!"

"What?!" Suddenly Mikkel was up, caught his coat and was on his way outside. "Don't move!" he shot towards Tuuri before he was outside the door.

He ran towards the two approaching team members. The closer he came the more certain he was that Tuuri had been correct. Emil looked haunted and Sigrun who was clinging to the boy with her last strength had an absent look in her eyes. From what he could tell her left arm was broken on several points.

"For Fanden!" he hissed before he turned to Emil. "You did great, boy. I'm taking over now. Get in the tank and get some space ready for her. And tell Reynir and Tuuri to quarantine themselves in the driver's cabin. In Sigrun's state, we cannot decontaminate her properly for now."

Emil nodded briefly and started running. Sigrun cast one glance in Mikkel's direction, managed a regretful grin and collapsed in his arms. He caught her expertly and lifted her up in front of him.

"I give you cause for worry, huh?" she whispered.

He shook his head.

"You don't have to play strong for my sake. I don't know what happened out there and right now I really don't want to know. But that was a bit of a close call for my taste. Nobody would be served if you were smashed to pieces."

"I trust your skills to patch me up again." She smiled ruefully. He frowned at her and she sighed. "Look, I'm agreeing with you. But we were careful. We really were. It just happened… The risk comes with the job."

Mikkel shook his head again and sighed as well. In the wasteland nobody was safe, Sigrun and Emil as members of the military even less as it was their job to be on the frontline. That didn't mean Mikkel had to like it. Seeing a team member injured hurt him inside each time it happened because he knew that another time they might not be so lucky.

Careful not to hurt the woman in his arms he walked to the tank. He was determined to do all he could for her.

When Mikkel stepped inside, Emil had already finished most of the tasks the healer had given him. Reynir and Tuuri were safe behind glass while Emil was tidying up the bunk room. Lalli was nowhere to be seen so Mikkel suspected that Tuuri had taken him with her into temporary isolation. Although the boy was immune it was better to have him out of the way.

Emil turned around when he saw Mikkel approaching and prepared one of the bunks for Sigrun to lay down. With his face, the boy indicated Mikkel which of the bunks he had intended. It was one of the middle ones which could be easily reached. The others he had stowed away.

Gently Mikkel put Sigrun down on the makeshift sickbed before he turned to Emil encouragingly. "That was good work in such a short time, Emil."

Sigrun mumbled something as well and as far as Mikkel could tell she commended the boy for his behavior during the mission.

"Can I… can I be helpful some more?" Emil asked finally.

Mikkel who was already busy assessing Sigrun's state turned around. "As a matter of fact, you can. Get some water and a washcloth ready. We might not only need to clean her wounds but also decontaminate her that way. But go and cleanse yourself before you return."

Emil nodded and left.

When he was gone, Mikkel turned to his patient once more.

"Eventually I need to undress you in order to have a good look at your wounds," he said solemnly. The need had not arisen before and he didn't want to do anything without the consent of his patient.

Sigrun managed a somewhat recognizable shrug. "Fine by me," she muttered.

"Before I do so however I need as much information as possible about your injuries, especially the one on your head."

He needed to keep her conscious and occupied until he knew more about what had happened to her.

"I was flung into… into a wall. My head hurts like hell and Emil says there was some blood. Dizzyness…"

Mikkel listened intently. "Did you throw up?"

She groaned. "Yeah…"

"Did you or do you experience memory loss?"

"I have some trouble focusing, but memory's alright."

Mikkel made a mental note. "Just one last thing. I need to check your eyes. I want to warn you that my light might be little bright."

"Okay…"

She held still and didn't flinch when he directed the light ray of a small torch into her eyes. Her pupils reacted to the light alright as Mikkel noticed with some relief.

After he was finished she blinked several times to get rid of the afterimage. "Diagnosis, doctor?"

"You definitely have a concussion but it is relatively light."

When she tried to sit up he gently held her down. "I said 'light' not to treat it lightly. If you don't want any lasting damage you need to rest for the next couple of days. I can give you some painkillers and something to make you sleep. Since I know the extent of your injury now I can give you these things in good faith."

"Later?"

"Yes, later. Now I need your help. I must undress you because I need to look at your arm but also at the rest of your body. I'm warning you. It can become painful."

She tried to grin. "Had worse."

He reciprocated the grin. "There's always room for new experiences."

She grunted and sat up slowly with Mikkel's help. Together and with utmost care they succeeded in removing all of Sigrun's clothes apart from her panties. Mikkel put them in a heap for Emil to pick up and decontaminate when the boy should return.

Then he concentrated on beginning a preliminary examination. Her body looked battered and bruised alright. It was already clear that her arm was broken but he needed to make sure what else was there and if there were any internal injuries. While assessing the extent of her wounds an unsavory thought slipped into his consciousness.

 _Gods, she's beautiful._ She was slim but well-trained having no excess gram of fat anywhere on her body. Despite her muscles she had kept her feminine appearance. An assortment of scars was everywhere on her body telling of fights past. Her breasts…

He closed his eyes to get rid of these inappropriate feelings but when he opened them again he found her watching him intently. It took a considerable amount of willpower not to avert his gaze.

He cleared his throat.

"It's best to treat your arm first…"

She shifted her position to grant him better access to her arm while he searched his medical bag for a splint and bandages.

"I need to set the bones straight again… This might…"

Sigrun interrupted him. "I know it will hurt. This is not my first broken arm."

He looked up. "Are you treating this as a sort of trophy, Captain Eide?"

"Every trollhunter worth his or her salt has traces of previous fights to show. It's part of the trade. It happens. A little pain is nothing I haven't experienced before."

He searched her eyes for hints of boasting or irony but found none. She was not trying to be funny. In fact, it sounded a bit as she were reassuring _him_.

Cautiously he felt her arm and the bones in it. "You are lucky that it's not an open fracture. It decreases the risk of inflammation."

"I know." She bit her upper lip as soon as he began setting the bones straight thereby hiding the pain. When it was over he believed he saw a little sweat glistening on her forehead. He would not mention it however as she would never forgive him noticing her weakness. Instead he concentrated on setting the splint and securing everything.

"So that's that. How does it feel?"

She tested the arm. "A little stiff. But it will do. I'm a fast healer."

"Good. Now lie down on your back again. I will look for other injuries. Are there other parts of your body that you feel pain in?"

"I am not sure about my left hip. It also crashed into the wall and I had some trouble walking. But it might be nothing. Right now, everything hurts…"

Mikkel eased her back in a lying position. Then he turned his attention to the spot she had indicated. His hands were trembling as they came in contact with her light skin. Again, she watched him intently.

 _So soft… so warm…_

He put his hands on her hip and began kneading the muscles until he felt the bones underneath. "Does this hurt?"

"Yeah."

"It doesn't feel broken, Gods be thanked, but it might be sprained or bruised."

"I thought so." She didn't seem to care particularly being more interested in his movements and his touch. He swallowed and set himself to examine the rest of her body in the same vain. It seemed she had also caught a broken rib but apart from that nothing else was broken. Neither were there symptoms of internal bleeding or other internal damage. She had been incredibly lucky to not only survive this assault but also to sustain relatively minor injuries from it.

The clearing of a throat made Mikkel turn around. Behind him Emil had brought everything the healer had demanded. The boy seemed not to be particularly uncomfortable by Sigrun's nudity and neither did she. In a way Mikkel felt relieved.

"Thank you, Emil. You were a great help. If you could take her clothes away now I think we are almost done. In the meantime, I will help her clean herself and then you can let out Tuuri and Reynir."

The boy nodded and looked at Sigrun.

"How are you now?"

She grinned. "I could swear a troll beat me up pretty bad, but Wonderboy here worked miracles. I'll survive."

Now Emil could also grin. He picked up the clothes and left leaving Mikkel and Sigrun alone once more.

There gazes met and went to the wash bucket together.

Mikkel bent down to pick up the washcloth. "Let's get you decontaminated so the others can get out."

She grinned mischievously. "Are you up to the task?"


	3. Chapter 3 - A Soldier's Proposal

**Chapter 3 – A Soldier's proposal**

"Children's books!" Mikkel snorted derisively. The morning after the attack he finally found the time to take a look at their latest acquisitions. Tuuri was immediately by his side.

"Really?!" she seemed excited and happy. "That is a rare find or not?"

"For me it looks more like a random find." He put the books out on the desk. They were about twelve.

"Have you talked to Emil how they managed to get them?" Tuuri couldn't resist looking at them. "They are in astoundingly good condition."

"But they are _children's books_!" Mikkel put his face in his hands. "Sigrun almost died for useless children's books."

"Hey, I heard that!" came Sigrun's voice from the bunk room.

Mikkel sighed. "Why does she have to be so…" He stopped and tried to drop his voice. "…illiterate?"

"I heard that, too!" Sigrun chimed in again. "Next time _you_ try picking books while a troll is right behind you."

"That's true, you know!" Emil was just stepping into the tank again after having taken his morning rounds. "By the way, everything's clear!" He must have overheard the last bits of conversation. In that moment, Mikkel realized that he had never really asked how the mission actually went. Everything had been overshadowed by the necessity to treat Sigrun.

"Are you telling me you just grabbed some random books while being attacked to avoid coming home empty-handed?"

Emil put his head into the door. "Yep, that's how it went." He vanished again to decontaminate himself.

"I didn't know that. I'm sorry." Suddenly the books looked rather different to Mikkel.

"Apology accepted!" he heard Sigrun say and smiled. He picked up one of the books. _"Sådan får man et barn_ ," he read. "Great, a book on sexual education and pregnancy. And with rather disturbing pictures, too." He let it fall back on the table. "Exactly what we need…"

Tuuri picked it up with curiosity. "I think it is rather interesting. Let's see what else we can learn from the other books." She grabbed the next one.

It was time to check on Sigrun again so Mikkel left Tuuri gladly with this task. He took his medical bag and walked to the bunk room where is patient lay down. She hadn't gotten up for the whole day per his order. In the bunk above her Lalli was snoring lightly. This child could really sleep anywhere.

"How are you today?" he asked more cheerful than he felt.

"Better," she answered honestly. "My head doesn't hurt as much and the dizziness is almost gone. My arm is still giving me some pain as does my hip."

"I expected as much. Let me see." Gently he touched her forehead and could not stop himself from stroking her hair before he removed his hand. He felt caught immediately afterwards because she looked him directly in the eyes. It was impossible to discern what she thought.

"You have no fever which is good. That means that most of your injuries are external. There should be no permanent damage if you rest enough."

"Your estimate?"

"I'd say you should give you head another four to five days. After that I think it is safe for you to get up again. You will see for yourself how much you can expect of your body then."

"I see." There was no hint of impatience in her voice which surprised him. He had always found her to be impulsive and a tad reckless.

"For now, I allow you to sit up. I will check on your arm and your hip."

Gently he helped her up. Sitting up she first stretched arms and legs before she let him have a look at her broken arm. Intent to concentrate on her injury he touched her. She felt so warm and soft and incredibly alive considering what had happened to her. And she smelled good… His hands trembled slightly before he could will himself back to the task. Again, she gave him this cryptic stare. This time he averted his gaze.

* * *

The following days would mean a large readjustment for the team. With their leader incapacitated there was not much they could do except huddling together and laying low. Of course, Sigrun was kept in the picture all the time and gave her assessment if necessary, but Mikkel was adamant she kept her rest. She obliged with little resistance being sensible enough to know that she could not afford to worsen her condition and stayed in her bunk bed most of the time.

For Mikkel and Tuuri that meant archiving the newfound books while Lalli and Emil watched the perimeter. Reynir had volunteered to take care of the laundry and other tasks that need to be done. In his free time, he practiced drawing runes or helped Mikkel and Tuuri.

Mikkel would check on his patient regularly and to everybody's relief she made great progress. What he never told anybody was the way being close to her made his heart beat. He was adamant to never let on but couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that Sigrun knew exactly how she made him feel. All he got from her were these strange looks. After five days, he allowed her to leave the bunk for the first time. From then her condition improved steadily.

* * *

One day, Mikkel was standing outside doing the laundry. It was a fine, clear winter day and the danger seemed as remote as it could possibly be. Lalli probably was sleeping, Tuuri and Reynir were inside and Emil was patrolling.

A noise startled Mikkel and he turned around to see Sigrun in the entrance of the tank. Her arm was still in the splint but her hip allowed her to walk again.

"We should talk," she said matter-of-factly and joined him.

He sighed and nodded. "Look, if it's about…"

She stood upright and looked him straight in the eye. "Do you want to fuck me?"

Mikkel let the laundry fall back in the cauldron and stared at her. "WHAT?!" He blushed. "What… what are you talking about?" he stammered.

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm asking you now if you have felt or are feeling a desire to have sex with me." Her voice had the tone as if talking to a small child.

Mikkel suddenly found the floor much more interesting. He scolded himself for his carelessness. Now he got the reprimand he deserved. Finally, he found the courage to look at her again. "Why do you ask?" he muttered.

"For faen, you Danish ox!" She cast up her healthy arm in exasperation. "Stop fidgeting, will you?! I'm asking one last time!"

Behind his back Mikkel dug his fingers in his palms until he hurt. And then he said it. How much worse could it get?

"I desire you very much. But I would never have…"

She held up her hand to interrupt him again.

"Then I propose we should have sex." She said this so nonchalantly that Mikkel could only gape. Startled by his reaction she glared at him. "What is the matter with you? Is this not what you want?"

"I could ask you the same! Gods, Sigrun you could at least give me an explanation. What has gotten into you?"

She sighed once more and sat down on the small stool that stood next to the cauldron. "What has gotten into _me_? Is this not the sensible thing to do?"

"Sorry, still not following." He picked up the laundry again in the hopes to regain is confidence.

She got up again and leaned on the tank. "Right, I forget, you guys probably handle things differently."

"I would certainly say so…"

When she started explaining she sounded like a teacher talking to an incredibly slow student. "Sexual tension can become a very dangerous issue during a mission such as this. Especially when it's not resolved. There are a lot of reasons for this but since you are no trollhunter I guess one of them is you trying to hide your desire from me at all costs."

He nodded, understanding slowly dawning on him.

"You are right, I tried to hide it."

"You weren't that successful anyway, but apart from that it takes up valuable resources like willpower, concentration and energy. Sexual tension is a normal human reaction when living in such a cramped environment. We deal with that on a regular basis in the military. And therefore, it became standard procedure to resolve it, to get it out of our systems when the need arises. It's the sensible thing to do."

In a twisted way that totally made sense. Those trollhunters were people in the prime of their physical health and fitness and they spent a lot of time together out in the wilderness. Forbidding them sexual intercourse would not increase their performance.

When he didn't reply she continued. "I am the captain of this mission and I need to ensure everybody's safety and wellbeing. And since I desire you myself I decided to apply Norwegian military protocol."

"Are you guys always this direct?" Mikkel still needed time processing.

"There's usually no need to."

"I should have guessed." He put the laundry back and walked over to Sigrun putting his hands on her waist.

"Sigrun Eide, I agree to your proposal."

She nodded curtly. "Good."

Now that that was settled he tried to kiss her, but she stopped him immediately with her hand.

"Unh-unh. No kisses. Just sex. This is not about growing attached to each other. This is about releasing hormonal tension. Nothing else."

He inhaled sharply and tried to shake the impression of immediate regret. He couldn't help but feel that he had just made a large mistake.


End file.
